It's that time again!

Well another month has flown by and it is time to tell you about the May block for Bee Blessed.

This is the Bow Tie block by Cluck Cluck Sew, and you can get the tutorial here.

The tutorial shows you how to make 1 quarter block, so we would love it if you could put 4 mini blocks together to make 1 x 12.5" unfinished block.

Please keep to solid backgrounds, any variety of colours will be great.  And have fun using up scraps for the cute little bow ties!

And a big thank you to everyone who tackled the Asterisk block.  It's going to be a really modern quilt for someone to enjoy!

Jude xo

Up-Sizing!

I'm loving many of the giant 'one block' quilts bouncing around blogland at the mo! I particularly like this creation (but then I like everything Hadley makes!).

Being a huge fan of Log Cabin blocks, and having recently flicked through this book over the Easter hols, I decided to put some of my large print leftovers to good use!

Approx. 67" x 68"

These fabrics are mostly Amy Butler, with a little Loulouthi thrown in for good measure!

Giant block quilts are great for those larger scale prints which can often be hard to place in a pattern.

I enjoyed putting this quick easy quilt top together.  As far as the quilting goes, I'm seeing some condensed quilting in it, but it might have to become a UFO for a bit while I crack on with work commitments! 

I blame the hottest day of the year here so far for making me deviate today!

Jude xo

A Scrumptious Finish!

I finally stopped the dithering over the binding for my friend's quilt, and just went with trusty black and white stripe - oh how I love stripey binding!

Finished size 57" x 60" (including the big crease down the centre!!)

This is my first half hexie quilt, using this tool, a Bonnie & Camille Scrumptious Layer cake and some Kona Snow.

And while I've made some adjustments to subsequent half hexie quilts (yet to finish), I really love how this one has turned out.

I've backed this one with red fleece, to make it super snuggly!  Our evenings can still be chilly here, so hopefully my friend will still get to use it straight away!

I quilted in the ditches of the hexies, as well as a diamond/zigzag pattern through the centres.



The handover is this Friday night, at the 70's themed party!  I'm supposed to dress up, but I'm chickening out!

Happy sewing!

Jude xo

Oh la la!

All the lovely sunshine we've had recently has got me in a summery mood (don't worry, I know it won't last!).

My prescription sunglasses don't fold flat, which means they don't fit into a 3.5" flex frame pouch.  So I got hold of some 5" flex frames (from Thailand!!) and made my own sunnies pouch!

I've also got rope on order for some beach bags!

And lookie, lookie!

I can't quite believe I'm now the mortified owner of 2 tankinis!!  Yes there is a hot holiday in my near future, and yes I've been having major dilemmas about having so much flesh on show!  But it's either strip off or die of heatstroke.  Dying of embarrassment will have to be the lesser of 2 evils!!

Kids are back to school this week yippee! And I'm back to work!  But just look who's going to be my beautiful assistant for the summer!

Shannon finishes school this week (yikes) and she is now in training as my much needed PA!! Joy oh joy!

I'm so looking forward to having my gorgeous girl by my side!

Wishing you all a great start to the new week!

Jude xo

Reunited!

I was reunited with daughter no.2 today, up at the glorious north coast!

It was another fabulous warm and sunny day!

We will definitely be visiting here again in the summer!

In other news, I've got the Scrumptuous Half Hexie quilt quilted.  I'm dithering over the binding, but a looming deadline will make me decide soon!

Jude xo

Tea by the Sea!

Some of you may have noticed one of my offspring missing from recent photos.

She's been on holiday with friends, body boarding and surfing like the mad thing she is!

As a thank you to her 'mum for the week' I made her a 'seaside' themed zippy pouch and matching teabag wallet.

The teabag pouch is from Ayumi's book 'Patchwork Please' and a super quick wee make!

The zippy pouch I made up as I went a long (as per usual!).  The Irish Linen worked well with some leftover 'Seascape' fussy cuts.  I especially like the sea turtles inside!

I will be extracting said daughter on Wednesday, only to take her to the airport on Thursday!!  Ah the life of a 15 year old!

Jude xo

Sunnyside!

The sun continued to shine on this glorious resurrection day!

We had a lovely family lunch out, and then walked some of it off by the shores of Lough Neagh!

The rest of the day was spent in the garden.  Oh how I love sitting in my garden!

No sewing today!  But I can show you a quilt top I finished yesterday.

Sorry about Poppy's rear in the pic!

This is my 2nd half hexie quilt top, this time using a layer cake by Kate Spain called Sunnyside!

I'm dithering on the backing for this one.  I want to keep it light and sunny, but don't have anything in my stash that is quite right!  Might have to go shopping (when they eventually reopen - Thursday over here!).

The first half hexie quilt top has now been basted and is ready for quilting!

Hope you are enjoying the Easter break!

Jude xo